Treasury's $26 B 2-year sale was well received Treasury's $26 B 2-year sale was well received. Thanks Janet. The note priced well, stopping just through at 0.603% (the richest of the session) versus 0.605% at the bid deadline. The yield richened measurable from the 0.66% level at the time of Yellen's testimony (and it compares to last month's 0.540%). Bids totaled $89.7 B for a 3.45 cover, weaker than January's 3.74, but better than both December's 3.21 ($27 B auctioned) and the 3.38 average. Indirect bidders accepted 48.2% versus 48.6% previously and a 32.4% average. Direct bidders were awarded 9.0% against last month's 8.8%. Primary dealers took 38.5% versus 42.6%.

FX Action: USD-JPY is down flirting with the 119.00 level FX Action: USD-JPY is down flirting with the 119.00 level, touching 118.97 before reclaiming the figure again. Aside from the post-Yellen blip to 119.84, and subsequent sell-off, trade has been quiet, as the market takes nothing terribly new away from the Fed Chief's commentary. As a result, USD-JPY looks set to maintain recent trading ranges, inside of 118.00-120.00.

Treasury's $40 B 4-week bill sale was routine Treasury's $40 B 4-week bill sale was routine but demand was not as strong as recent offerings. The bill stopped right on the screws at 0.015 %, and is fractionally cheaper than last week's 0.010% award rate. There were $146.1 B in bids for a 3.68 cover, slightly less than last week's 3.75 and the 3.95 for the week before that. Indirect bidders took 35.2%, up from the prior 26.7%. That's the highest since December 30.

Yellen on "Audit the Fed": Yellen on "Audit the Fed": it is critical that the Fed can deliberate on the best way it can meet goals, while GAO reviews in real time might have inhibited Fed actions in the past to tackle inflation. Research has demonstrated that independent central banks perform better and economies are more stable. Otherwise, this would bring short-term political pressure on the Fed, which is already extensively audited. Bottom line - she strongly opposes.